Match Report: Nantwich Town 2-1 Warrington Town

By James Brown:

Nantwich Town made it 11 games unbeaten in the Evo-Stik Premier Division with a huge, hard fought 2-1 win in the Cheshire Derby against promotion chasing Warrington Town at The Weaver Stadium on Tuesday evening.

Some quick thinking over a free-kick from midfielder Sean Cooke only five minutes in gave the Dabbers a 1-0 lead, curling his effort over the wall and past the helpless Charlie Albinson before an absolute thunderbolt from Joe Mwasile seven minutes before half-time flew into the bottom left hand corner to double the advantage.

A nervy second half which saw Warrington apply plenty of pressure on the Nantwich back line with the hopes of finding a way back into the game wasn’t to be enough as despite an Adam Hughes free-kick beating Fabian Spiess with 20 minutes to go, the Dabbers held on for another big victory in their march up the table, closing the gap on Scarborough Athletic at the summit to five points.

Nantwich will look to continue the unbeaten run on Saturday afternoon with another home game, this time against Matlock Town (3pm kick-off).

On a cold evening in South Cheshire, The Dabbers warmed up the 296 in attendance almost immediately as after just five minutes, having been taken down in a dangerous area, Sean Cooke took a quick free-kick and curled his effort over the wall into the bottom left corner giving Warrington keeper Charlie Albinson no time to react.

The bright start from Nantwich continued into the 20th minute when Joe Mwasile put in some brilliant effort to track back and win possession in his own half before winning a free-kick which resulted in Steve Jones having a shot turned behind for a corner which was eventually cleared.

The best chance for Warrington came after 32 minutes when a free-kick in a good area was curled a matter of inches over the bar by Jack Mackreth who even began to run away in celebration.

Almost immediately down the other end Nantwich had a good chance of their own when Matt Bell’s lofted ball found the run of James Lawrie who’s dinked effort from a tight angle came back off the bar.

With seven minutes of the first half remaining, the Dabbers got the all important second goal, and what a goal it was. Jones’ pass found Mwasile on the right side of the box who hit a superb strike which flew into the bottom corner leaving Albinson with no chance.

Warrington almost had an opening to hit back a minute before the break after Spiess misses a punch from a cross but fortunately Jake Phillips was on hand to clear.

A golden opportunity for Warrington to pull one back came four minutes after half-time when a loose ball fell for Robbie Evans who blazed over from five yards out. The Dabbers came within inches of killing the game off just before the hour when Cooke was tripped by Bohan Dixon in a similar area to his first half goal, this time his effort dipped just over Albinson’s bar.

Jones was still full of running heading into the final half hour, bursting down the right before having his cut back looking for Craig Lindfield turned behind for a corner which resulted in Lawrie seeing his shot blocked by Adam Hughes.

With just under 20 minutes remaining, Warrington found a way back into the game from a softly awarded free-kick which Hughes curled around the wall and past Spiess.

That goal gave Warrington renewed hope of getting something from the match as they piled forward with Tony Gray and substitute Dominic Reid both seeing chances miss the target.

Two minutes from time the visitors thought they had equalised after a low cross was bundled home at the back post however the assistant referee raised his flag to rule the goal out for offside.

Some resilient defending from the likes of captain Joel Stair, Toby Mullarkey, Jake Phillips and Jamie Morgan saw out six minutes of added time as Nantwich held on to win the Cheshire Derby and close the gap at the top!